Before he became a household name among comics fans
by rescuing the DC character Sandman from relative obscurity,
Neil Gaiman -- collaborating with Dave McKean for the first time
-- worked the same magic on another forgotten character, the
Black Orchid. A character so overlooked, DC editor Karen Berger
initially thought Gaiman was asking to work with an entirely
different character.

Gaiman's Black Orchid has a few characteristics in common with
her predecessor -- she's supposedly impervious to bullets, can
fly and is a master of disguise. But that's where the
similarities end. While the original Black Orchid was a human
woman with superpowers, this Black Orchid is neither human nor
plant, but a hybrid of both. The three issues of Black Orchid
the comic explore her origins and nature, while allowing Gaiman
to explore and expand upon the relationships between DCÕs
various plant-affiliated characters: Poison Ivy, the Floronic Man
(Jason Woodrue), Swamp Thing.

This exploration is seen through the lens of two of Black
Orchid's hybrid sisters; the older, an adult, retains snatches of
memories from the human woman who provided half their DNA. Driven
by a need to understand both those memories, and her place in the
world, she takes the child and sets out to find answers. Their
journey takes them to Arkham Asylum, the swamps of Louisiana and
eventually further south to Brazil. And they are being tracked
the entire way; the ex-husband of their human progenitor knows of
their existence, and is trying to use them as a bargaining chip
to get in good with his ex-employer, Lex Luthor. Luthor, ever the
sharp businessman, sees their potential, and has them tracked.
Everything comes to a head in the Brazilian jungle, with the
newly enlightened Black Orchid putting her foot down -- and
ending the hunt, though not their adventure.

Fans of Gaiman or Vertigo who have not read this title will
find much to like in Black Orchid. It starts with a bang
and comes to a satisfying conclusion after a heroÕs
journey of discovery. Dave McKean's artwork is exquisite,
particularly his rendering of the hybrids themselves, human-like,
yet so very Other.